


Spin the Bottle, Mike!

by the_ratprince



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game, Spin the Bottle, but el likes him a lot so its okay, its really sweet and sparks are flying sis, mike wheeler is a neRD, mike wheeler likes star trek, slow burn who? we dont know her, they are flirty asf, they be kissin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:53:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23924920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_ratprince/pseuds/the_ratprince
Summary: Mileven high school AU! When a simple party game goes way unexpectedly, what's the aftermath? Pretend that it never happened? Well, that's the usual case... But for Mike and El, it's a whole other story. What's the real aftermath? A tale of teenagery and romance! And a whole lotta high school shenanigans!
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello curious reader! Carm and Gummi here. Welcome to our fic! It's gonna b pretty nice and pretty sweet and also no slow-burn because we cANNoT. Comments are always welcomed. Anyways, enjoy!

El grabbed her cup from the table, taking a sip of punch and laughing as her best friend Max mimicked some of the boys' horrid dancing. Lucas, a quarterback for Hawkins High, was throwing a party for his 16th birthday and had invited what seemed to be literally everybody into his giant house. Seriously, this place is gigantic.

Anyways, since Max is his girlfriend, and El hadn't been to a party in a long, _long_ time, they decided that going to this party was a must! It had been about an hour and a half since they've been there, and honestly, this party was really fun so far. The music was great, the drinks were good, and all-in-all the party was just well organized.

After the song ended, Max stumbled back to El and put her arm around her shoulders, the two of them laughing to the point where they were about to fall over.

"Pfft- damn Max, you really showed them!" She yelled, straining her voice so that Max could hear her over the booming music.

"Hell yeah I did!" she yelled back, giving her a short laugh and gasping when something caught her eye. Before El could even ask, she was dragged by Max over to a corner of the room, where a circle of teens had just gotten up from their places. There was a bunch of cushions laid in a circle, and a glass coke bottle was settling itself into a stop from when it was spun. _Ah… Spin the bottle…_

"C'mon, El, let's play!"

El had never played before, but she knew enough from shows and movies to figure it out. There was a tinge of excitement in the air as the group of teens gathered in a circle, some dragging their friends along with them. She sat crossed-legged on a cushion next to Max, watching as Lucas pulled another boy over to the circle by the arm.

She recognized the boy from her fifth period English class. His name was Mike, a tall, lanky boy with dark eyes, wild curly black hair, wearing a gray sweatshirt and jeans. He looked embarrassed and miserable, staring down at the ground and twiddling with his thumbs once he sat down.

El didn't know him very well. He didn't participate too much in class (and when he did, all of his inputs were incredibly thoughtful), but he seemed to have a nice personality. Sometimes they would have quick, friendly conversations, usually asking each other about homework or assignments. Both of their best friends were dating, so she found it convenient to have someone she at least sort-of knew in the class with her.

El found her gaze lingering on Mike for longer than it should have, for Max raised an eyebrow at her.

"Checking out Wheeler, huh?" she said to her in a low, snarky voice. "He's a good kid. Didn't like it too much when I started hanging out with Lucas, though. He was pretty bitchy about it. Really protective of his friends, like jeez."

El's gaze quickly snapped away from Mike when Max started talking, only letting out a small "Hmm," at her remarks. Before the conversation could progress any further, Max smiled at the group assembled before her.

"You guys up for some seven minutes in heaven?" there was a murmur of approval from the teenagers, and Max grinned mischievously. She reached over and spun the Coke bottle, the glass making a hollow ringing as it rotated on the tile floor. El held her breath as the open end of the bottle came to a slow on her. _Great, guess I'm the first victim._ It wasn't an ideal situation, but she'd manage.

"Wow, El, let's see who the lucky person is. Care to spin?" Max still had that hilarious smirk on her face as El reached to spin the bottle. Her heart was racing in anticipation. The ringing of the bottle drowned out the music until it was all she could hear, the sound consuming her brain, taunting her as the bottle came to a slow. It stopped. She looked up from where it was pointing and saw a quite flustered Mike, sitting up from his slouched position, eyes widening in panic.

Mike's eyes immediately shot up to Lucas for guidance. "Uhm, I don't…"

Lucas gave him a shrug. "Sorry, dude, it's the rules."

El stood up, concealing her internalized fear well. There was a hum of whispers from the rest of the group, excited, mischievous muttering, their words muddled out by the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. She didn't know why she was freaking out so bad about this. She knew for a _fact_ that nothing was going to happen. She and Mike would simply stand in the dark coat closet in silence.

She waited for Mike to stand up as well. Most of the others had stood too, eager to wait by the closet door and listen in on her and Mike. He finally got up, reluctantly walking over to the coat closet after being shoved in its direction by Lucas.

"Hey! Lucas what the hell-!" he let out a quick shout when Lucas shoved him in the closet, Max coming in close and nudging El inside too.

"Sorry man, you looked like you were about to have second thoughts!" Lucas grabbed the handle before Mike could, letting out one of his toothy smiles and winking at Mike before he closed the door. They both cringed as they heard the telltale rattle and click of the lock being turned, still frozen in the positions that they were when the door was open.

After a few seconds of silence, Mike sighed and hung his head low, running a hand through his hair as he contemplated the bizarre predicament he was in. He didn't wanna play a game like this, he hated these dumb game, and to make it worse, he was still healing from when his girlfriend at the time had cheated on him with one of his good friends. It sucked major balls.

He glanced in her direction, his eyes opened with curiosity and he soon raised a brow when he saw that she was nervous… not _very_ nervous but, still. Her gaze was darting from him to the ground and wherever else possible, chewing her lip slightly as she fidgeted with the end of her skirt. At the notion that she too, felt as nervous and discomforted as him, he nodded and straightened up, his hands in his sweater pocket as he cleared his throat.

"Hey…" he started, quickly grabbing her attention, "we uh… we don't have to do this if you aren't comfortable, okay?" He said softly, and awkward reassurance in his eyes as she held his gaze.

She smiled, thank god he understood and was being respectful about it. "Oh, no it's okay! Don't worry, we can probably just sit in here and wait?" She prompted, but it was more of a question. He nodded in response, smiling back.  
"Yeah, sounds goo-" The two of them jumped as a loud banging on the door cut him off.

"NUH UH- YOU GUYS AREN'T GETTING OUT UNTIL YOU SUCK FACE, IT'S THE RULES!" Max shouted from the other side, making the two of them groan. Knowing both Max's and Lucas's fierce stubbornness now put together, they were surely not getting out of there by asking nicely.

He turned back to El, rolling his eyes and smiling, eliciting a giggle from her. They both looked at the ground, Mike setting his weight on the other foot and El flattening her skirt out a bit as they awkwardly leaned towards each other.

"Sooo, uh… this is about to make English a bit more awkward…" He started, rubbing the back of his neck as she hid her mouth behind her palm, giggling softly.

"Yeah… but at least we'll get out of the coat closet- it smells like ass in here." They both chuckled at the statement, Mike's shoulders untensing without him even realizing they were tense in the first place. He placed his hand on the wall and leaned towards her, looking into her eyes with his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Are you sure? Y'know, so I'm not forcing you," He started, soft reassurance and patience in his voice. She nodded, smiling up at him before answering.

"Yes, it's okay."

And with that, he leaned down, a hand tilting her chin up as he slowly came in and captured her lips. The first kiss was like marble against steel, but when he tilted his head for the second kiss it had changed significantly. El shivered at the feeling, his lips were so warm and firm against her own, moving in such a way that made her gut warm.

Sure, it wasn't her first kiss, but it was _electric_. It was like the flame of a candle, shining warm yellow-orange in the darkness of the closet. She felt like her insides were burning, as if instead of blood in her veins it was lava, coursing quickly through her heart.

At last, they pulled away from each other, slowly, hesitantly. Their faces were still extremely close together, and when El's eyes fully opened again, she realized how _beautiful_ Mike was. It was quite dark in the closet, the only source of light being the yellow band of light at the bottom of the door. But even with the darkness, she could still see the splatter of freckles splashed onto his pale skin, eyes so dark they were almost pitch-black.

She gave into his lidded eyes and chasing want, leaning forward to connect their lips again. She felt the need to come closer, to make the fire burning in her gut burn brighter. He felt her arms loop around his neck, pulling their bodies even closer than they were before. His hand brushed her arms and brushed themselves all the way down until they stopped at her waist.

God, he felt like he was on fire. He had goosebumps. It wasn't at _all_ what he expected. Shit, it was so much better. He felt like he was hallucinating the whole time, taken aback by El's eagerness to continue the kiss. And when she put her arms around his neck, God, that set off a whole lot of emotions he was almost certain he wouldn't feel again for a long while.

He was sure the feeling of her soft lips on his would be permanently etched into his memory after this, the subtle taste of punch and strawberry lip gloss. It was surreal, dreamlike. His awareness of what was going on faded in and out periodically. His hands were on her hips, he would fade out, absorbed in the kiss. He would fade back in, his hands now mysteriously on her back.

Surprisingly enough, El didn't seem to mind that this was happening at all. The beautiful, friendly girl from his English class was _kissing him,_ _ **right now**_ , letting out a content hum through the kiss every now and again as his fingertips brushed against her spine.

They were pressed against the wall now, and Mike couldn't tell whose back was to the wall and who was pressing the other into it. No sir, he hadn't the foggiest idea. Even though he hadn't drunk a bit of alcohol, making out with this fucking _gorgeous_ girl had him feeling fuzzy and warm as if he had guzzled an entire ten bottles of vodka.

He didn't even hear Max loudly announcing 'Time's up, lovebirds,' as she unlocked the door. Both of them were way too absorbed in the kiss, only realizing that the door had opened when they heard Max's gasp, and then laughter. " _Holy shit_!" Max squealed.

Mike and El pulled away from each other in surprise, still clutching onto each other. Mike practically jumped away, bright red blush flooding onto his cheeks as he looked around, still dazed, at the assembly of shocked teenagers around the coat closet.

"Jesus, I knew you'd be kissing a _little bit_ , not fucking rounding off second base!" Max's comment only made Mike blush even further, crossing his arms to his chest as he desperately looked down at the floor. _Is El mad? God, she must be furious at me. What the hell, Wheeler?_

Mike glanced over at El, who happened to be looking straight back at him, blushing just as furiously as him. There was something in her eyes at that moment, something that made him want to stare into her eyes forever and never look away. Love? Lust? Disappointment? Desire?

Whatever it was, Mike knew that he and El would need to talk about it in private at some point after the party. For now, they had a lot of explaining to do.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright,, now we're getting somewhere! Enjoy!

The Monday following the party, Mike decided to go and ask El to talk with him to get everything all sorted out. He felt an intense need to apologize to her, even though he _knew_ she had been comfortable with them kissing. The thought of their kiss in the coat closet set a churning feeling of excitement and embarrassment in his stomach.

He felt heat rise to his cheeks as he made his way over to El's table at lunch, hands stuffed in his pockets, avoiding direct eye-contact with her. El didn't seem to notice that Mike was walking over, absorbed in the conversation, head thrown back in laughter. Her laughs faded as she finally met his eyes, a look of, well, _something_ passing over her face as he cleared his throat.

"Uhm, El? Could I talk to you a sec in private?" he asked, rocking back and forth on his heels, still trying his best not to look at her surprised face.

She simply nodded. "Oh, uh, yeah, of course." El stood up, abandoning her lunch tray at her seat. All of her friends had grown silent now, giving Mike some seriously strange looks, especially Max.

They stepped out of the cafeteria, walking out into the quiet, deserted hallway.

Once he was sure nobody else was in the hall, he cleared his throat again, turning to face El, who looked up at him with a slightly flushed expression.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened at the party on Saturday. You must have been really uncomfortable and it was really embarrassing and…" he trailed off, rubbing his eyes. "God, I don't even know how I was convinced to even _go_ to the party"

"Mike," she looked up at him, empathy in her eyes. "You don't have anything to be sorry about." A small, shy smile crept onto her face. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm glad you went," El added sheepishly.

At that, Mike's cheeks grew warm. "Oh, um, thanks. So everything's good?"

"Yes, everything's fine."

They stood there for a few seconds, with El rocking back and forth on her feet and Mike looking to the side and rubbing his neck as the awkward seconds passed. Suddenly, El's eyes shot open and she gasped loudly, making him jump out of his skin.

"Shit! I completely forgot about the essay!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with panic. Blanking out, he arched his brow in question until he remembered that they were in the same class and, holy shit there was an _essay?_ After the realization he himself gasped and smacked a hand against his forehead, feeling dumber than ever that something _that_ important just completely slipped his mind. _Well no shit, after the party my mind's been all fuzzy… What is up with me?_

The two looked at each other, both their eyes wide, but then she started to laugh. He felt a smile tug at his lips and soon he was also laughing.

"You forgot too?" She asked, fighting back giggles.

"Yeah," he responded, a crooked smile on his face as they both let out little chuckles. God damn. The essay was due _tomorrow_ , and he had barely even started. It was supposed to be explaining how the author in _Fahrenheit 451_ builds and changes Montag's character throughout the novel. Jeez, it would be almost impossible to get it all done in a day.

An idea popped into his head. It was _extremely_ ridiculous and would probably get him into an embarrassing situation, yet something inside him compelled him to just _ask_.

"Um, would you maybe wanna work on it with me? After school today?" He winced at how up-front the question was, probably blushing like an idiot. Rather than replying in a repulsed way at his suggestion, how he assumed most girls would, El smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, for sure! We can work on the essay together, get it done quicker. Maybe our combined brainpower will make up for completely forgetting to start it in the first place." He let out a little snort, looking down and feeling the corners of his lips tug up yet again.

"Yeah, although there won't be that much from me, I'll be glad to share some." He replied, making her giggle.

"Oh don't be silly. You're super smart! You're like the only person in English who understands what we're doing and can make thoughtful input."

He smirked. "Well, I don't know about _that_." They shared a flirtatious smile, stepping towards each other an inch. "So I'll meet you after school? We can um, go to my house. My mom will probably be bugging us the whole time but…" he trailed off.

El grinned. "Yeah, sounds good." she walked closer to him, looking up at him through her dark lashes. She placed a hand gently on his chest, and suddenly her lips were on his. The kiss was brief, only lasting a couple seconds, but it was warm, soft, sweet like a cup of tea. It was a kiss that said goodbye, while still whispering promises of things to come. It made his heart glow.

It all happened so fast, like something falling on your windshield while driving. You see it happen, a flash of dark color and a loud thunk, but it happens so quickly you are left in acute shock after it happens, trying to process everything while still trying to focus on driving.

That was how Mike felt now, feeling her lips pull away from his, her hand removed from his chest. His thoughts were a jumble of nonsense as if his brain was half unconscious. El seemed to have that kind of effect on him, a force so strong he could barely think straight.

"I'll uh, see you around," she said, beginning to step away. His palm drifted to where her's once was, clearing his throat as he faded back into reality.

"Yeah," he took a deep breath as he attempted to calm his racing heartbeat. "See you."

The rest of the school day went by quickly, and the whole time Mike's mind was somewhere else. Hell, even when he got back to his lunch table he was a flustered mess, his friends being curious and quite _annoying_ about what happened in the hall with El.

"Guys, nothing happened. I just apologized and she said it was fine."

"Yeah right, and you're red as a tomato from _that_. Just tell us!" Dustin pleaded, mouth full of his ham sandwich.

Mike rubbed his face with his hands, sighing in defeat. "God, _fine_. You guys are impossible. She's coming over to my house after school to work on an essay with me." He muttered, hands in his pockets as he kept his gaze away from his friends. Lucas cocked a brow, smirking smugly as he elbowed his best friend.

"C'mon Mike, we all know you guys aren't gonna 'just study'," he abbreviated with his hands, making Mike roll his eyes and shake his head as he tried to clear his blush.

"Well you guys wanted to know and I told you!" he huffed, hiding his face.

Things weren't much better for El. She arrived back at her lunch table, mind buzzing with thoughts. God, why the hell did she do that? She didn't know what came over her. They were about to part ways, and good lord Mike's lips had just looked so _kissable_. And the way he was blushing bright pink the whole time? It was too adorable. She was as discreet as possible with Max and the rest of her friends, who were asking way too many questions. Of course giving them vague answers only resulted in getting asked more questions, El decided it would be best to keep the whole Mike situation under wraps. At least until she understood her feelings. Her feelings about Mike were beyond her comprehension.

After the dismissal bell rang, El wandered out into the storm of students in the hallway. It was relatively easy to find Mike in the sea, even though they had never set a meeting place for after school. She caught up to him when the crowd thinned out, tapping him lightly on the arm.

"Oh, hey! Um, you ready to go? I have to stop at my locker quick first." he said, clearly a bit caught off-guard at her sudden appearance.

"Alright, that's fine." she gave him a cheerful grin, heart racing in anticipation. They walked side by side down the hall, watching as the students emptied out of the school, all of them laughing and talking with each other.

She and Mike definitely got some weird looks from a few people, but El wasn't concerned. They could think all they wanted about her. She was in control of her own self, she could do whatever she wanted. If she wanted to go hang out with Mike Wheeler from English class, there's no way in hell dirty looks from bratty girls would stop her.

Not to mention that there were way more interesting things to be thinking about than what other people thought of her. Like how freaking flushed Mike was right now (and just around her in general), his lips, the ones that she had just kissed a few short hours ago, his dark hair and the way it was all messy and spiraled out of control in the best way possible. She found herself wondering what it would be like to run her hands through his hair, maybe while kissing him at the same time?

God, she was going insane. Butterflies fluttered around dangerously in her chest, their wings sharp as knives, cutting into her soul. She had to stop herself from staring at him for too long multiple times throughout their journey to Mike's locker, and then to the parking lot. And a few times, she could've sworn that he had been staring at her too, catching his eyes with her own as her chest fluttered for a few seconds.

It was weird, because if any other guy was doing that she would've been uncomfortable or maybe even a bit creeped out, but it was almost as if she _wanted_ him to stare. To be sure that he was reciprocating at least _something_ , even if it was just a stare. _He must be feeling something, too, if he invited me to his_ _ **house**_.

Her heart quickened in anticipation at the thought. Nothing would happen, right? They would just work on their essay together. Then again, El had had similar thoughts before getting into that coat closet with Mike during spin the bottle, and that had resulted in a full-on makeout session.

Nevertheless, she would just have to wait and see what would happen. Instead of dwelling on her feelings for Mike, she tried to distract herself by beginning to plan her essay. Her attempts to distract herself were quite unsuccessful, considering that _Fahrenheit 451_ did not remotely pique her interest, and she and Mike were close and alone, sitting in his car.

It was so hard _not_ to focus on him. Each time she tried to recall back to the book for ideas, her mind shifted to Mike again, drawn to him like a magnet. He hypnotized her.

They shared a lighthearted conversation during the drive to Mike's house. El wasn't quite paying attention to what it was about, responding with what her autopilot thought made sense. Her conscience was stuck in a labyrinth.

It was all so strange. She had taken little notice of Mike before Saturday night. It was as if her worldview had shifted. Kissing him was somehow different than it normally was with other people. Before, it had just been something cute and nice between her and a boy. With Mike, it felt like fire. Like flames tearing through her insides, embers sizzling in her heart, filling her with such an electrifying sense of want. _Want_. She wanted to know everything there was to know about Mike. She wanted to drown in his dark eyes and warm kisses, light touches. There was an instinct or something inside of her, constantly prodding at her brain. The presence that made her give in to all of the want built up inside her, the presence that made her kiss him in the hall, that made her stare at him and have all of these thoughts, drew her to him. And for some odd reason, she didn't want it to stop.

The butterflies, the heat in her gut when he just _looks_ into her eyes, she never wants _any_ of that to stop. Even reminiscing about the good times she's had with boys before, she's never found any of these feelings as strong as they are now; if anything they were only a fraction of the intensity that builds up in her heart at the thought of Mike. _How could I have not talked to him sooner? But more importantly, why was I even wasting my time before if he was just right there, a few seats away?_

"Alright, we're here," he spoke, making her snap her attention away from her thoughts and, ironically, right back to him.

"Oh," she replied, looking over at him and trying to snap herself from her daze.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly.

El cleared her throat. "Um, yeah, I'm fine."

"Hey, I uh didn't get a chance to ask you but are your parents okay with you coming over?"

"Yeah, it's good! My dad works late tonight and I'm usually free to do whatever when he's working."

Mike nodded. "Alright."

They hopped out of the car and into the chilly January air. They stepped onto the porch, the noisy clinking of his keys breaking the winter silence as he jammed it into the keyhole and unlocked the door, pushing it open for her.

"Thank you," she spoke quietly, almost in awe of his home. It was definitely modern, but it wasn't as cold as some of the other places she's seen. The cream wallpaper and the carpeted floor made it softer and almost soothing. And it was kinda big, not really what she expected- not like she was expecting anything bad but it _was_ a pleasant surprise.

Slipping off her shoes, she followed Mike at the bottom at the staircase as he signaled to his room, her eyes wandering to the side at the various framed photos while her cheeks tinted red. She was getting a bit antsy, the familiar feeling rising up from her stomach and almost tickling her throat for a second as he opened up the door to his room and awkwardly shuffled inside.

"Apologies for the mess, but to be honest what can you expect from a teenage boy's room?" he added his input, making the girl laugh and shake her head.

"Oh don't worry, it's honestly _not too bad_ ," she announced. "I've seen worse." And of course, she had. Mike's room was actually pretty clean, aside from the occasional loose paper on the ground and the pile of dirty laundry in the corner.

"Agh, it's a clown cave." he sighed, plopping himself down to sit on the edge of his bed. "But at least it's _my_ clown cave."

El let out a snicker. "Clown cave?"

Mike smirked. "Yeah. Clown cave. It's like I'm the clown and this shithole room is my cave." he laughed softly.

"Pff, you're not a clown, Mike."

He raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief. "If you say so," El had to keep herself from rolling her eyes as she sat herself down on the beanbag across from Mike's bed. "Hey, mind if I play some music while we work? Helps me focus, and I dunno it's fun."

El nodded. "Yeah go for it! Music is nice when you do homework."

She took her English binder and _Fahrenheit 451,_ as well as a pencil out from her backpack while Mike selected a song to play on his phone. As she flipped to the page of the assignment in her binder, a quite familiar song rang through Mike's room. She recognized it as "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones.

She smiled, looking up from her binder to grin at Mike. "Rolling Stones, huh? You have good taste, Wheeler."

He returned the small grin. "Thanks."

The two were swaying and bobbing their heads to the music, the only thing on their minds was silent concentration as they worked on the beginning of their essays. Short hums and swaying pencils from time to time made it all feel strangely peaceful, like this was normal enough to do every day and honestly, it didn't even feel like she was writing an essay. It just felt like a _thing_ _she was doing_ , not a chore or some stupid assignment made to stress kids out in order to satisfy a teacher. Honestly, she was kinda loving it.

Every few moments they would discuss the talking points for their essays, analyzing the book's themes and development. Rather, _she_ was listening to _him_ , not really contributing much but nodding and responding enthusiastically to his inputs.

"Uhm, so the author starts the book off with the line, 'It was a pleasure to burn'." Mike started. She nodded. "This kinda introduces us to the mindset of Montag before he's changed. It shows how normal it all is to him. To burn all of these books.

"I mean, think about it: imagine what it would be like to be him. Your job, to burn any books you find as well as their houses, without even questioning or contemplating it. You're completely loyal to your duty, only to have your reality _completely_ turned upside down. Of course, Bradbury writes Montag's transition in a way that-"

El tries her best to keep up with Mike's spewing of knowledge but eventually gives up on trying to understand it all. Although not really able to understand what Mike was talking about, she still nodded thoughtfully at his remarks.

When Mike finally wrapped up his talking, El smiled. "Wow. You've really analyzed the book, huh?"

Mike scratched the back of his head, realizing that he had pretty much just talked his entire essay to El without even realizing it. "I suppose. I mean I don't really have that much else to do in my free time. Plus, it can be fun sometimes." he mumbled the last part, looking away and chuckling at her awed response.

"God, I'm sorry I just- pfft I never would have thought of you being an analytical person-" she giggled behind her hand as his brow arched.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a smirk, only making her laugh even more.

"Oh, I dunno, only that track-running, medal-winning, _Michael Wheeler_ is a nerd!"

He laughed out loud, accompanied by a snort from El- which only made him point and laugh even harder.

'IT'S NOT EVEN THAT FUNNY-" she choked out as the two of them were on the floor, curled up and laughing to no end.

"I KNOW-" wiping tears from his eyes, he sat up, shoulders still shaking from his mirth. After a few more seconds of silent laughs and chuckles, the pair faced each other, trying ever so hard as to not burst into laughter again. His face split into a dopey smile as hers did too at some weird realization that they were able to see each other's faces.

"Hi," she chided, smiling sweetly.

"Hi," he responded, with the same stupid smile that made _her_ smile become even wider. Before she even realized what was gonna happen afterward, something about his dumb face just made her do it.

Her hands flew to his face and with a noise of surprise, their lips met and he just _melted_. Wheeler kissed back, of course. The strong warmth he felt was really surprising and he suddenly had huge flashbacks to the party. The closet, hands trailing everywhere, mouths on fire. Hell, how could he forget that?

They separated, both breathless and when their eyes opened, all they could really do was gawk at each other. Holy shit. That just happened…

After a few seconds of silence and huge eyes meeting, she blinked. Then he blinked.

"Woah…" he started, awkwardly albeit.

Right when she opened her mouth to utter an apology, the music in the background snapped the both of them out of their… awkward situation. The speaker opened with a harsh, sudden note. Mike soon realized it was the start to _Fell In Love With a Girl_ and he couldn't have wanted to die more than he did at that very moment.

His head whirled around to where he left his phone. Spotting it quickly, he scrolled through his playlist and tapped on literally any other song he can find.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you- The White Stripes can be a lot sometimes," he blushed, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh no, you're fine," she said, her cheeks bright pink, fiddling with her hands. Her heart was pounding in her chest, the feeling of her lips on Mike's was still ghosting on her lips, her fingers feeling tingly and cold. "Uhm," she cleared her throat. "We should probably work on our essays some more."

"Oh, yeah. Definitely."

They hastily got back to work, both still flustered from the fiery _whatever experience_ _ **that**_ _was_. The atmosphere was still slightly heavy and they were both trying to shrug it off, and after a few minutes of silent writing, it did actually manage to shake itself off. The only background sounds being the music thrumming and the sound of pencil on paper.

It was about 5 o'clock when El checked her phone and decided it was about time to head home. She _was_ getting a bit tired. Maybe she could take a nap when she got home. Though she doubted she would be able to sleep for even a second with everything that had happened today.

"I should probably head home soon," she said, looking up at him.

"Oh, alright. Want me to drive you?"

She nodded.

El began putting her things back in her bag, the kiss from earlier still replaying over and over again in her mind. God, she had done it twice today. She felt almost embarrassed, but Mike didn't even seem very phased about it. She didn't know whether to be happy or disappointed but she decided to think about it later since the boy that was plaguing her thoughts was opening the door for her.

They made their way outside, making sure to be extra quiet to avoid a run-in with Mike's mom.

"She can be really annoying, especially if someone's over," he had told her.

They climbed into Mike's hand-me-down car, El setting her bag down at her feet. She crossed her legs, glancing over at Mike as he turned the key into the ignition. She cleared her throat gently.

"So what are you planning to do for the rest of the day?" she asked.

"Uh, not much I don't think. Just finish homework and stuff I guess," he answered, his car's engine running loudly as he started it up.

"Ah," she started awkwardly, her mind going a mile a minute while she thought of the different ways she thought this simple sentence would turn out. "Oh wait, I realized that I still don't have your number!" Ah yes, the 'I realized-!' bit.

"Oh shoot, you're totally right about that," he said, grabbing his phone and unlocking it, passing it over to her.

She held the phone in her hands, putting in her number in an empty contact and giving it back to him, smiling. "There you go!"

"Thanks," he smiled back, putting his phone back in his pocket as he went back to place his hands on the steering wheel, pulling the car out of the driveway.

The car ride back was mostly silent, but both of their minds were filled with thought. She couldn't stop thinking about the kiss, he couldn't stop _feeling_ it. Each time it happened it felt different, each had a different meaning, filling him with a sense of tingling warmth and excitement. Just thinking about it made a small smile spread onto his face. It was a feeling he loved, one he wanted to feel again and again and again.

He soon pulled up into her driveway, looking to the side at the front door before unbuckling his seatbelt. There wasn't another car in the driveway and the lights inside weren't turned on. _Okay, we're safe! Thank god… No crazy cop chases just yet, Wheeler…_

He made a small chuckle to himself at the thought while he helped her out of his car, giving her a nod after she said her thanks. The walk up to her door made him feel shamefully sad, kinda like a puppy.

"Well, uh, I'll see you tomorrow at school, yeah?"

She smiled up at him. "Yeah."

Before he knew what was happening, El reached up and cupped his cheek, leaving a gentle kiss there before disappearing inside her house.

Mike's heart was pounding out of his chest. He had to stand on the porch for a few more seconds to calm down before taking a deep breath of disbelief and walking back to his car. He drove home with a smile on his face the whole entire time.


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *clap* fOLKS! Prepare yourself. Comments are appreciated!

Later that night, El sat alone in her room, finishing her chemistry homework and closing her textbook with a sigh when she finally finished. She lay face up on her bed, staring at the ceiling, accompanied by no one but her own buzzing thoughts.

Mike. _Wow_. She had only hung out with him once and yet she felt like she knew almost everything about him. She couldn't help but admire him. His intelligence, his humor, his gentle way of being sort of apprehensive and careful with things. It made her feel safe. Her instinct was to trust him.

After being with him for only a couple hours, El missed his presence. It was disappointing that she had to leave and return home to her quiet house, where her dad had returned from work a short while later. It wasn't that she didn't like her dad. She loved him a lot, and spending time with him was always fun, yet she missed the soft comfort of Mike's home. She wanted to sit on his beanbag again, listening to The Rolling Stones or George Harrison or Neutral Milk Hotel while they worked on their essays. They didn't even have to be doing that. As long as she was with him, nothing really mattered.

Alas, she felt like she had pretty much screwed up any chance of hanging out with him again with the kiss and all. Mike didn't seem to have necessarily a negative reaction when she kissed him. In fact, it was a somewhat positive reaction. (Although, wouldn't most teenage boys react positively to being kissed?) But she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable around her.

Despite her guilt, her nerves were pricking the inside of her skin, and she really just wanted to talk to him. She rolled over onto her side, staring at her phone which was sitting idle on her nightstand. She let out a sigh of defeat

….

Mike lay curled in bed, intently reading through _The Kite Runner_ , feeling slightly restless. He glanced at his watch, seeing that it was 11:30 at night. It wasn't an ideal situation, but he had stayed up even later on some nights and didn't have too much trouble managing at school. The life of someone his age was certainly a sleep-deprived one.

Sighing, he turned to his nightstand, his eyes wandering until they stuck to his phone. He looked back down, debating whether he should text her or not. _I mean, is she even awake?... Yeah, who isn't at this point? Ah, but I'll feel bad if I wake her up..._

However, before he was even able to make a decision, his phone buzzed and a notification popped up.

_1 new message: El_

He smiled. _Looks like I wasn't the only one waiting._ His chest warmed when he opened his new message, snapping him out of his tired state.

_El: Hey, you awake?_

He chuckled to himself, so he wasn't the only one _yet again._

_Yeah._

She texted back with lighting speed.

_El: good!_

And before the boy could respond his ringtone rang loudly in his ears, and he hasn't swiped 'ANSWER' quicker in his life.

" _Hey!"_ she excitedly whispered, making him smile.

"Hey, how are you? Is everything okay?"

" _Pfft! Yeah, everything's alright... Silly-"_ her giggle made his heart thump.

"Heh… were you bored too?

" _... maaaaybe…"_ he chuckled at her tone. " _So what are you doing right now?_ "

"Well, before you called I was reading a bit."

A snort escaped from her before she started, followed by giggles. " _Busy being a bookworm, huh?"_

He laughed, shaking his head. "Hah, I guess so. Why? Am I too much of a nerd for you?"

She gasped, " _Oh it's gonna take a lot more than that to get rid of me, Wheeler!"_

And for some reason, that started an influx of butterflies to rabidly attack his gut and chest.

"Pfft, _watch me!_ " After some laughs, the two grew a bit silent. He could feel his throat becoming dry as his nerves crept in, anxious, dreading to ask a question that was swimming in his mind.

"Hey uh, do you maybe wanna…. Go on a late-night drive or something? There's a quarry nearby we could go to if you want. Oh and we can go to Benny's too if your hungry- uh, o-only if you wanna come, that is-"

A loud giggle erupted from the other end, making his ears burn with embarrassment. _Damn, guess i gotta go dig a hole now. REST IN PEACE, Michael Wheeler. Cause of death? Total humiliation._

" _Hell yeah! That sounds great, how can I say no?"_

 _YES! OH DEAR GOD-_ he let out a puff of air, immensely relieved at her acceptance to his 'invitation'. With fireworks firing off in his chest, he rushed up out of his bed, putting on one of his hoodies with a smile that almost split his face.

"Nice! I'll be there in 10."

" _Okay! I'll see you in 10 then, bye!"_

"Bye!"

….

Mike's car rolled up to her driveway a short while later, leaving her with just enough time before to fix her hair and make herself look decent before heading out. She heard her phone buzz, most likely Mike texting to let her know that he was here. Grabbing a jacket from her closet, she gently opened her bedroom door, trying to make her movements and steps as quiet as possible in case her dad hadn't fallen asleep yet.

El crept down the stairs, careful not to trip, being that the house was currently pitch-black. With some close calls, she made it to the door, carefully cracking it open and slipping through. Thank god she didn't have a screen door, because she would've had to think of a whole new method for _that_ situation. _Damn, how does Max live with that? What a hassle-_

Giggling to herself, she stepped out onto the porch, the headlights of his car almost blinding her, but she could see his faint figure leaning against the car. When her eyes adjusted to the light, his features were fully recognizable. Even in the bright light, his wild, curly hair was still dark somehow, his freckles also still visible despite the rest of his skin is very pale white. His eyes surprised her, in the added light, his normally dark chocolate eyes had an amber glint to them. She was so entranced in fact, that it took her a hot minute to register that she _still_ hadn't moved.

She cleared her throat, quickly pacing over to the passenger's seat, trying her absolute best to ignore the sly smirk on his face. So he _did_ catch her eyeballing him. _Shit!_

Soon, both doors shut and they faced each other, smiling.

"Hi." She started.

" _Hiii,"_ He ended. They burst out laughing after just a few seconds, one of his hands still on the wheel as the other covered half of his face as they both cackled some more.

Their laughter fizzled out, the two of them letting out sighs as they finally seemed to calm down. He let out a few more chuckles before turning to her, smiling.

"You ready?" She nodded, smiling back.

"Of course."

With a nod, he turned the keys, lighting up the ignition and smirking when the car hummed alive. _Alrighty. Off to the quarry we go._

….

Mike and El arrived at the quarry a short while later, stepping out into the rocky landscape of the cliff. They overlooked the water, its black depths teeming with a sense of mystery and quiet doom under the starlight. They settled down next to each other beside the road, sitting down on the cool grass next to the asphalt.

"It's really beautiful out here." Mike murmured.

"Yeah, especially at night," she responded

"So you sure your dad is cool with this?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Eh, it'll be fine. I snuck out. My dad's a heavy sleeper so I don't think he'll notice." she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Why? Did you take me here to do some hardcore drugs?" she snickered.

He shrugged, "No, I'm not about that kind of stuff" he responded. Glancing over at her, he continued. "Actually, would your dad mind if we did some _light_ drugs?" he joked with a smirk, El erupting with laughs.

"You're such a dumbass,"

"Hey, what can I say? It's a specialty of mine. Oh but wait! I thought I was a nerd!" he countered with a smug face as she laughed even harder.

"Well, somehow, you master both!"

"Technically, that's a matter of opinion-hey, are you really thinking about me that much? Why, I'm flattered." He inputted, his smug persona never slipping as he even put a hand on his chest as if to further push his persona.

"Pfft! You wish!"

They burst into another fit of laughter, clamping their hands over their mouths to avoid their laughs echoing across the quarry. Their gasps and chuckles continued even a few minutes after, both of them feeling high off of each other in such a good, good way.

He slid back, lying on his back, and he looked up at her as if silently inviting her to do the same. And so she slid back herself, her left arm flung above her head as the other rested on her stomach, reveling in the feel of the cool grass on her skin.

Her eyes met the black sky, individual stars coming into sight as her eyes adjusted. Almost instantly she became breathless, stars had such a calming but adventurous feel to her, it was astonishing. She turned her head to the side, her gaze swirling gradually from the stars to Mike's face.

"Hey, Mike?"

He tilted his head to face her. "Yeah, what's up?"

"What do you know about constellations?"

His brows scrunched in thought, he chewed on his lip before he spoke. "Well, to be honest, I don't know much about constellations. I'm more interested in the stars themselves rather than where they're placed." He finished with a shrug, turning back to meet eyes with her again.

"Ah, you do have a point, _buuut_ have you ever stargazed before?" She asked, fingers curling into the blades of grass beside her.

He chuckled, "Do documentaries count?"

Laughing, she shook her head. "Not at all! Now shut up and look up so you can get the _real_ experience-"

"Okay okay! _I'm looking up,"_ he chuckled, both of them falling silent. Fingers thread onto the grass beside them, they subconsciously shift, hands searching for new blades of greenery to fidget and tug on.

Mike gazed up at the hundreds of twinkling stars peeking out from the dark blanket of the night sky as he and El fell into a comfortable silence.

And during that silence, Mike thought. He thought about El. She was so easygoing. Approachable. A person who you _wanted_ to be friends with. He loved her curious and playful personality, the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at him. She made him feel like he was important. Like he actually _mattered_ to someone for once. She was understanding and forgiving. Underneath their layers of jokes and teasing and flirting, he and El seemed to somehow _connect_.

Maybe it was that thought that made him want to kiss her. Maybe it was that he was a hormonal teen who had been stargazing and thinking too much and for too long. It didn't matter why. He just needed to.

His gaze drifted from the night sky to her. It was in that moment that he realized that somehow, during their silent stargazing, they had started to hold hands.

_You were so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn't even process that you started to hold hands with her? Way to go, Wheeler._

El must have noticed Mike's shift in focus, for she looked at him as well, glancing down at their joint hands before looking back up at him with a small smile. Mike returned the smile, and so, the two teens turned from stargazing to simply gazing at each other. Mike wasn't sure how long they lay like that, heads turned towards each other, just looking at each other, but at some point, he tentatively moved closer to her.

He lifted himself up a bit to go in for the kiss at a better angle, while El seemed to do the same as her eyes fluttered shut and her lips parted, the both of them moving closer and closer.

They both stopped dead in their tracks as they heard the rumbling of a car engine approaching, its headlights lighting up the road ahead of it.

Mike and El's attention shifted from each other to the car as they watched it drive by, the driver paying no mind to the two kids laying on the ground together. Soon, the car was gone, and their eyes met again.

Mike hesitantly pulled away from her, shaking himself from his daze as he sat up. He cleared his throat.

"Um, do you wanna get something to eat at Benny's?" he asked, his voice wavering a bit after being startled by the car.

El sat up as well, a tinge of disappointment in her smile as she replied. "Sure! I _am_ getting a bit hungry."

They stood up from the grass, Mike stretching lightly after being seated for so long. They walked back to the car together, both still a tad flustered. Mike's heart hadn't stopped beating out of his chest since he tried to kiss El, hell, he could practically hear his heartbeat in his ears.

Ignoring his racing heart, Mike got into his car, El hopping into the passenger's seat as well. He turned the key into the ignition, the car's engine coming to life in its old, rumbly way. As he turned on the car, he noticed El smiling over at him quite intently, the look in her eyes indicating that her mind was somewhere else.

"What's got _you_ all smiley?" he asked, glancing over at her as a small grin spread onto his face as well.

She clicked her tongue, sitting back in her seat as her mind drifted back into reality. "Oh, nothing."

"Alright," he responded, pulling out from where he had parked and driving away from the quarry.

El fiddled with the radio dial for a few moments, flipping through the channels until she came upon a song that seemed to satisfy her. It was one of those songs that you don't really know the name or artist of but is yet so familiar you know the lyrics by heart.

She leaned back in her seat, happily listening to the song, both her and Mike humming along. They briefly made eye contact as the chorus of the song approached, giving each other a knowing smile.

At the chorus, both teens burst out singing, added, not very well. But it didn't really matter, not to Mike. Because, in that moment, his heart was overcome with such a feeling of joy, happiness, and excitement. He was driving in his car at 12 am on a Monday night with _El Hopper_ , of all people. The prettiest, funniest, sweetest person on the planet.

So yeah, maybe Mike was nerdy, or unpopular, or antisocial, or maybe a little _too_ head-over-heels for this girl. And maybe he was singing a bit too loud and a bit too horribly. But it didn't matter, not right then. Because at that moment, Mike Wheeler was happy.

…

Mike and El arrived at Benny's a short while later. They stepped out of the car out into the chilly parking lot, Mike laughing at a story El was telling about something funny that had happened during chemistry the other day.

Walking towards the entrance, Mike finally caught his breath after laughing, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Wow. He _really_ didn't notice?" El smiled.

"He didn't have a clue."

"Oh my god. Man, I almost feel bad laughing, it must have been pretty embarrassing for the kid."

Mike opened the door to the diner for her, a smile still stuck on his face. El and Mike stepped inside, where it was warm and the air smelled like delicious food. As she looked around, El noticed there were about four or five other people in the diner, which was good since she felt slightly guilty for coming to the place so late at night.

They seated themselves at a booth, sitting across from each other. Their waiter came shortle, looking tired yet still cheerful.

"Welcome! What can I get for you guys?"

They ordered their food, El getting a burger while Mike just ordered a basket of fries, water to drink for both of them.

El took a sip of her water, looking over at Mike. "So have you seen any good movies lately?"

"Man, what an original way to start a conversation." El smiled and rolled her eyes at his comment. "I recently saw the Star Trek reboot that came out in 2009. I wanted to watch it, being that I'm a fan of Star Trek and I haven't seen any of the movies with Chris Pine yet."

"So what did you think?" she asked, resting her elbow on the table and propping her chin up. She could listen to him talk for _hours_.

"I thought it was….interesting. It was kind of weird to watch because it has the same characters as the original series, but the movie takes place in an alternate timeline, so they changed a lot of things." El nodded. "But I think overall it was well-casted and the plot and stuff had a nice classic Star Trek feel, but still making it look more modern and polished."

"Wow, that sounds pretty interesting!" she replied. "I might watch it at some point. Science fiction stuff is really cool."

Mike's heart fluttered at her words, surprised at her interest in his ramblings. _How does she not think I'm weird?_

"I would recommend watching some of the original series, too. That way you kinda get a feel for the characters and stuff."

"Yeah, for sure."

A sly smile spread onto Mike's face. "Hey wait a second El, are you sure this stuff isn't _too_ nerdy for you?"

El laughed as she found herself rolling her eyes again. "Well, I guess _some_ nerdy things aren't _so_ bad."

At that, Mike felt hope glow in his heart. _Oh my god, could she be talking about me? Am I a nerdy thing that isn't so bad?_

Their conversation was briefly interrupted by their food arriving, its aroma making Mike hungrier than before.

El smiled at their waiter. "Thanks so much for serving us this late at night."

He put his hands on his hips, smiling back with slightly tired eyes. "No problem! Thanks for coming in!"

They began to eat their food, drifting back into conversation. "So how about you?" Mike asked.

"Hmm?"

"You seen any good movies lately?"

"Oh," She shrugged. "I don't know, me and my dad have a movie night every week or so, but unfortunately his taste in movies isn't so great."

"Eh, well at least you're spending time with him, y'know? That's more than _I_ can say."

"Oh, how come?" El asked, furrowing her brow.

"I mean, my dad has never really been a great parent. I usually only see him sleeping on the couch and at meals."

"Aw, that's rough, I'm sorry" El sympathized, tilting her head slightly.

"Ah, it's alright. I got used to it after 16 years." Mike replied with a sideways smile.

"I hope things get better for you. Family stuff can be tricky, I know how you feel."

"Thanks, that.. that means a lot." He looked up and nodded, smiling.

El smiled back. "Of course."

The two talked for a while longer, absorbed in each other, content to just be near each other and having a nice conversation. When they both finished their food, they decided it was time to leave and head home so that they could both get some sleep. After paying the check, they headed back to El's place.

…

Mike's old hand-me-down car pulled up to El's driveway a while later. Although quite tired, he still was disappointed that they had to part ways. He felt like something had shifted between them today. Something about the way she kissed him in his room, how they lay silently in the grass at the quarry as they gazed at the stars, how they could have a conversation about almost anything. Anything but their feelings for each other.

By the time he was walking her to her door, for the second time that day, his heart was about to break his rib cage. They stopped at her door, Mike fidgeting with his hands behind his back. He took a deep breath.

"Hey, El?"

"Yeah?" she looked up at him, the orange lights outside her house dimly illuminating her features, eyes shining.

"Um, this may sound a bit forward but...I feel like… like a connection to you?" shifting his weight to his other foot, he continued. "C-can I see you again sometime?"

Her face lit up with a smile. "Yeah, of course! I had a really good time tonight." she responded. "You have my number and uh, I'll see you at school tomorrow too!"

He smiled in relief, feeling his tension ease away at her enthusiastic response. "Yeah!"

They slipped into silence, simply looking at each other with a new light in their eyes. El felt light as a feather, her mind refusing to believe that this was real, that _he_ was real. At some point they said goodbye, and El slinked back to her room, but her conscience was not quite paying attention, drifting off somewhere else.

She soon found herself laying on her bed in her dark room, staring at the ceiling just as she had earlier that night. She was smiling, something she had done countless times, but this time the smile felt different. It was the smile of someone young, and she dared say it, in love.


End file.
